Magicicada – Everyone is Everyone (CD)

Magicicada elicits a Native American type of feel to the first track on “Everyone Is Everyone”, “Coso Joru”. There is not much else to this track besides a humming that is present throughout the song’s six minute runtime. In what can only be described as a noise approximating that of a human heart, the atmosphere created by Magicicada from the get-go is very organic, even if (I would venture) most of the noise on the track is inorganic. The entirety of the journey during “Everyone is Everyone” is arduous, to say the least. The disc tops out at about seventy minutes, and much of what awaits a listener is the same sort of Spartan sound that starts off the album.

The minimalist approach works well for Christopher as ey really knows how to create a reason for listening into what could simply be called natural music. An individual has to be patient with Magicicada on this album, as much of the most interesting material lies well beyond the normal breaking point for listeners. For those individuals that can stand Penderecki or Glass, Magicicada may just have enough gas in eir tank to ride along for the entirety of this seventy-minute trip. In what is one of the shortest tracks on “Everyone is Everyone”, “Wellbelow” has some of the richest instrumentation to be found. So many things are happening during this track, whether it be snippets of vocals, sleigh bells, or tens of other things; Magicicada have made a number of somethings into one cohesive drone. In what is the bear of the disc, “I Demand My Fucking Cloud” is nearly seventeen minutes of music that have little to do with the title of the track. A number of things are occurring during any one segment of the track, but Chris demanding eir fucking cloud is something that I just do not hear. Each of the tracks are pretty disparate in sound, only having the common thread of a devotion to a Spartan ideal.

Thus, individuals will not get tired of the works on “Everyone is Everyone” even if they put the disc on for intense listening. This album will not be for everyone, nor do I believe that it was Chris’ intent to really attempt to convert even a significant fraction of individuals. For minimalist music, there is enough meat to really sink one’s teeth into; “Everyone is Everyone” is the rare example of such an experimental album standing on its own.

Author: James McQuiston

Ph.D. in Political Science, Kent State University.I have been the editor at NeuFutur / neufutur.com since I was 15. Looking for new staff members all the time; email me if you are interested. Thanks! View all posts by James McQuiston